


The Winter Soldiers

by Krivoklatsko



Category: Frozen - Fandom
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-09-11
Updated: 2016-09-11
Packaged: 2018-08-14 10:20:03
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 6
Words: 9,431
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8009863
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Krivoklatsko/pseuds/Krivoklatsko
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A retelling of Frozen from the perspective of the castle garrison. Standalone prequel leading to the events of The Cold War.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

I would like to tell you that I have served my queen at the expense of all that I am, that I have maintained my post with integrity and single minded focus, and that I have carried out my duties without the slightest of hesitation. But such lies would not serve the moments in which I did.

I will tell you of my thoughts, of what I saw and heard and felt. But focus instead on those who occupied my thoughts. They were the hope I saw. Every pain I bore, they felt with me.

I will strike my name from this account, and from all records of my office. Instead, I beg that you honor and remember the vanguard of the last pure hearts. This war and this world are colder than what we could have had, and the survival of our meaning as moral people depends on the examples that have been set by the Ten Thousand Knights of Arendelle. Their spirits are about you. Their vigil will continue until the last love is requited and the last tear is shed.

I do not seek forgiveness for my inaction, for no good has been done in idleness. Do not let these tales lull you into the comfort of what once was; I have felt the shame of that trap. Do not mistake this story to be my redemption. It is theirs.


	2. Corona

The King Father of Arendelle had died with no male heirs. But I never sensed in him disappointment with the women in his life. His commentary on internal politics slipped only once, when his reign coincided with a solar eclipse. Standing beside him on the balcony, staring into the dark void of noon, I heard him pass this observation to his wife: “Only when we can’t see the star are we reminded of the majesty of its crown.”

And indeed, by Luna’s usurpation, the Star that lit our world had been hidden. But around it glowed the aura of its true value.  
Like that eclipse, coronations were rare and precious. Two was too many.

That was the sentiment dampening July’s anticipation at the gates. I stood in full uniform on that day, unblemished in action, form, or stature, wearing the royal dress greens of my nation, and the red feather of my office in a tall cap.  
Guests and onlookers had arrived early at the drawbridge, and waited there for my permission to enter. The gates had been closed for the duration of the Regency. Today, Elsa came of age, and her father’s ghost could end its patrols of the kingdom.  
These guests had waited hours for their new royalty. I had waited a decade, and the relief of an order I wanted lifted the clouds that had settled on our country. Two officers, female, slipped through the aesthetic gate, closing the door behind them, then stood at attention to report.

“Captain. The garrison has been made ready to the best of its ability. The castle is secure.”  
Hikari's salute was public and ceremonial. I turned into it, a right angle in my step and thirty degrees in the crook of my arm. The Lieutenant behind her mimicked each motion with a one second delay. The crowd loved it.  
My place: “Lieutenant Hikari Oni, your duty is complete. Report to the Queen and assume her side.”  
Hers: “I swear it, Sir.”

One. Two. Three.  
Our salutes dropped in unison. Lieutenant Hikari turned and left, her cadence belying great discipline. Her eagerness in all vectors to Elsa was no secret. Lieutenant Cherry stepped forward, to parade rest.  
“Sir! Lieutenant Second Class Cherry reporting! I have served the Acting Garrisson Commander to the best of my abilities!”  
Cherry was too young. I could see the excitement of her role tickling her dimples. She missed two beats to control her breathing. But she finally managed to say it.  
“I have a message from her Majesty Elsa, Queen-in-waiting, heir to the throne of Arendelle.”  
That got the crowd’s attention. Nobles and dignitaries gaped and humbled themselves at the very mention of that name. For once, the pig farmers were rubbing shoulders with them and didn’t look out of place.  
“What is the message, Lieutenant?”  
“Sir. Our orders are…”  
She didn’t laugh, and from the crowd’s angle, they couldn’t see her struggle against a smile. But my disappointment was her discipline. She swallowed, then spit it out.  
“Open up the gates.”

Eight long years were the pressure behind that cheering. A new age was dawning, and our royalty was no longer reclused. Lieutenant Cherry remained at the gates with me. The role was ceremonial, but not as formal. White gloves and well-shined boots and an officer’s lapels were all the guests saw when they shook our hands. The blur of thousands of people were not all memorable.

Three stood out. The first, a couple from a neighboring kingdom. They did not wear their crowns, or any indication of their status. But I had seen the man’s wanted posters, and I could never forget that my liege had died en route to their wedding. Their gestures were kind: seeing Elsa into her coronation, lowering themselves and avoiding celebrity, and meeting every soldier and servant with a smile and a quip. They brought the gift of a lantern for each sister. Cherry was too busy welcoming a Duke to notice.  
“Weaseltown?”  
“Wesselton!”  
“I’m so sorry, Sir. Please enjoy the celebration. But I also- Sir-”  
She moved to block him.  
“Your mercenaries, Sir. Our security staff-”  
She’d bitten into sour grapes. The Weasel pawed his screeching accusations at her.  
“How DARE you! This is an outrage! These are not mercenaries! These men are lord protectors! Mayor and Berger of- Thank you!”  
His protest had ended as abruptly as her resistance- at my order in a curt wave. No point fighting at a party. I leaned passed the portcullis and caught another Lieutenant’s ear.  
“Krinkyl. The two Hessian’s behind the Duke.”  
I nodded their way, for him to see. It didn’t take a genius to recognize two thugs in disguise.  
“Get to Lieutenant Oni. Make sure she knows to block them.”  
“Yes, Captain.”  
He nodded and jogged. The real party was out of my reach. I hadn’t wanted the presence and eyes on me that day. Cherry knew why. Her glances toward me were no longer smiles. She spoke her mind without asking. I didn’t mind. It was a celebration.  
“It’s the end of a conflict, Sir.”  
“What?”  
“Elsa is Queen now. There’s no chance of a war after this.”

Her words hadn’t caught my ears, but I saw the meaning in her uniform. She wore a foxfire pendant over her dress greens, on a silver necklace. We few Knights of Anna had never wanted violence, but twins and succession laws did not play well. It had been a matter of popular preference, ended when Princess Anna ceded her claim. For once, she’d been poised and graceful. She had prostrated herself before a sister that did not even deign to comment. No weapons brandished, no words exchanged- Their frozen relationship.

“But, if I may, Sir. You don’t have to resign.”  
I don’t think Cherry had been made aware of limits in her short life.   
“How do you know about that, Lieutenant? That was supposed to be a secret.”   
I scowled. She returned a coy look that saw the common between hens and soldiers. She was right.  
“Cherry… I can’t stay. It’s a conflict of interest. I don’t want to talk about it.”  
The third guest of note arrived then. He had meant nothing to me at the time: Prince nobody, ass-last inheritor of some islands, late and dripping wet.   
“Hi. I’m prince Hans, of the Southern Isles.”  
He smiled at Cherry as she approached. But she had a way of being bitter and sweet. She smiled compassionately.  
“Oh. Your Majesty. You didn’t have to Swim here.”  
Funny, Cherry.

I remember better seeing Hikari’s excitement an hour later.   
“… For the ceremony, Lieutenant. I think it would be more appropriate for you to attend. I’ll keep your post in the Grand Hall while you follow the Queen.”  
I knew she would understand my implied reasoning. But I hadn’t realized how much she had hoped for it. She followed her salute with the offer of a hand. I saw the ice pendant on her chest glowing, and in many ways, I was still not ready for the end of Anna’s cclaim. But the war was not worth having. I reached across that border and accepted her handshake.  
“Thank you, Lieutenant. You have served honorably, and I wish you the best in your command.”  
“Thank you, Captain. I... Thank you.”

There were too many moments ending too well. I had raised her in my shadow from her first combat to her first command. I had surrendered my weapon to her when Anna bowed her knee. Our relationship, always, had been a tangent of our relationships to the Crown- And always, had been one of respect.  
“Captain,” she’d called me, after we’d almost crossed blades. I suppose I had brought her closer to Elsa, and for that I was being thanked. That, and I was still her Captain for another day.  
I didn’t breathe again until she’d left me in the Great Hall. Lieutenants Krinkyl and Cherry were briefing their platoon, their voices mingling with the hurried servants.  
“Sauces go there.”  
“No guests beyond this point.”  
“… Ten foot clearance from the throne. You can see a faint line in the floor there.”  
And my order to them, “The Duke of Wesselton has two Hessian Mercenaries with him. I want Hikari and Krinkyl blocking on them at all times. Krinkyl, notify Hikari when they get here.”  
A chorus from all: “Understood.”  
From Cherry, a quip: “More like two-thousand Hessians. They’re still unloading in the docks.”

The hour passed too quickly, and the party, too slowly. Soldiering has been described as long moments of boredom punctuated by brief moments of terror. From the retirement end of that cynicism, I felt even worse.  
I would never apply these judgments to the totality of their lives, but at that party: Elsa’s grace felt hollow- forced politeness and a play at civility- like watching Hikari’s slow paces and strained smile. Her eyes never left the hessians, nor her body their line-of-fire. Anna alternated between male guests and chocolate and crying in the restricted hallways.

The Duke made his move half-way through the night, spearheading to the queen under the pretense of a dance while his men flanked the throne dais. We had them four-to-one before they were within twenty paces. And ever-ready to sacrifice herself, Anna accepted the worst dance I have ever seen. Her desperation for attention worried me. Her rejection of the Duke’s presence lit the foxfire pendant in my breast pocket.  
But seeing her freckles frown, her bare shoulders sagging the silhouette of a great, green dress, spoke to my broken spirit. I can tell you here what I could not tell myself then: I had no choice who to love. I could not pretend to be loyal to Elsa while her sister drew breath and lit the faces of weary souls. I, and all of Arendelle, needed Springs and Summers more than any Winter. I could not serve that post knowing that my life belonged to Anna.  
That had been my thought, seeing her cheeks flush in conversation and puff with chocolate and bruise when she thought no one could see her sobbing into the drapes. She has my back for every task, my shoulders for every moment of weakness, and my sword for every enemy.

But she also had the attention of a man I had ignored. He stepped in to stop her from tripping, and soon had her tripping over him in the next dance. She hung on his every word and suggestion. And at the slightest mischievous beckoning, she followed him out the gates. I had wanted to follow them, and caught myself slipping through the doors after them before I remembered my duties.  
I cannot describe the panic of that moment. I had only the faith I had placed before in the Crown’s spymaster. /u/Leviro2005 fired a look over his shoulder and made pursuit as if he were their shadows. But I had never really known the man. I had only my faith in him.

That wait was not a long hour of boredom, nor a brief moment of terror. I would rather have charged an immortal foe than stood without purpose. In that moment, I felt my spirit had finally broken.  
Seeing her face as they returned cured me. Seeing her expression was a new cut. The prince followed her hold on his wrist. He wore the stupid grin of a lucky prick. And he noticed nothing as Leviro, Hikari, Krinkyl, Cherry, and I closed ranks beside him. Anna marched that foreign prince right into her sister’s conversation.

Elsa did not acknowledge her sister immediately. She waited with great patience for the Irish Count to finish speaking, then thanked his Spanish friend for the story, and only excused herself when Anna tapped her shoulder.  
“Elsa! I mean, Queen! Me again! Um… May I present, Prince Hans of the Southern Isles!”

I wish I could say worse things about him. But in that moment, Anna was happy. Hans had made her so, so happy, as I had never seen her since the storm and the sea took her parents. And I remember as we all receded from the scene that we soldiers felt shame at cooping her into this house so long. We had not protected her. We had held Anna prisoner to our need for her to be our queen.   
“Your majesty,” Hans gasped.  
“We would like,” Anna interjected.  
“Your blessing,” Hans continued.  
A pause for their excitement. Then, in unison, “Of our marriage!”  
I will not bother to explain our shock. Anna and Hans encouraged each other’s excitement for far longer than Elsa cared to listen, discussing plans, until she finally had that heart-to-heart that had been brewing for their whole lives.  
“No one is getting married.”

The Queen’s words always had a chilling effect. Anna’s extreme humanity came at the expense of Elsa’s.  
“Now, May I talk to you, Anna? Alone?”  
“No. Whatever you have to say, you can say it to both of us.”  
“Fine. You can’t marry a man you just met.”  
“You can if it’s true love.”  
“Anna, what do you know about true love?”  
“More than you! All you know is how to shut people out.”

I felt then the same excitement that scared me four years prior. The blue and red of the knights’ gems, of our divisions, glowed brighter as they felt the sources of their power bickering. By the negotiations of my feet, I was within reach of Anna. Hikari’s study of swordplay had helped her to likewise side with Elsa. And while two sisters spit petty insults in a kind fashion, their servants had a very serious discussion communicated through the power of our positions.  
I moved first, stepping too close to Elsa. Hikari’s off-hand flashed and rested on the hilt of my sword. And in her glare, in the point of her shoulders and cheeks hollowed by adrenaline, I saw that was the last warning I would receive. But I also saw the pleading in her eyes, the same fear that we all had. She did not fear what I could do. We feared not each other’s intent, but our own. I, we, wanted this celebration to end our conflict. We could have peace within our time.  
Elsa, as always, was the voice of reason.

“Anna, you’ve asked for my blessing. But my answer is no.”  
The Queen’s eyes were on Hikari’s fingers, on my sword.  
“Now, excuse me.”  
Grace, Poise, Tact, all virtues that Hans lacked.  
“Your majesty, if I could just-“  
“You may not. And… I- I think you should go.”  
Then, as she passed me, I received my last order.  
“The party is over. Close the gates.”  
“Yes, your Majesty.”  
I was too slow to comply, too interested in conflicts that I should have left alone. Elsa had left for the gates, and I felt nothing. But when Anna sprinted after her, I stopped.  
“Elsa, wait!”  
And instead of complying, I obeyed the cry of my heart’s owner.  
“Give me my glove!”  
The crowd obscured them from us. But Hikari and I could both imagine how dramatic skin contact could be for the ultimate hermit. This could no longer end well. We turned in unison, checking against each other and guests alike as we breached the crowd, seeking our queens’ sides.  
“Elsa, Please! I can’t live like this anymore!”  
“Then leave!”  
Exile is an act of war.  
“What did I ever do to you?”  
“Enough, Anna.”  
“No. Why? WHY do you shut me out? Why do you shut the world out? What are you so afraid of?”

We had all wondered that, but never publicly. Now Anna’s shouts had us at the focus of the entire international community. This was that moment of terror. I could hear the steel singing in Hikari’s blade as she drew, felt the shrill of my own as we came into range of each other. But I did not expect her to whisper.  
“The Hessians!”

We had forgotten. We had failed. And in the moment we were sparring our positions, the Hessians had been unblocked. They were five paces out from our Crown, blades sliding out of their sleeves as they advanced. We were at least twenty.  
I want you to imagine the sounds of cute gasps, and swords drawing, and shoes squeaking on a polished floor. Imagine daggers sliding through cloth, and the shrill screams of two spurned women. Now imagine that all of these were avalanched by the sound of ice moving.

The last words in that conversation were Elsa’s. And she was no longer the voice of reason.  
“I said, ENOUGH!”  
Hikari charged the nearest Hessian while I flanked around to the farther. But all of us, and I mean every mobile person, was repulsed by ice. The force of nature and fury sprawled us on the dance floor. The Hessians rose at once, into the cries of “Sorcery!” and “Witch!” But no one was getting past the wall that Elsa had raised. The Queen’s figure was a muted image beyond it, hesitating at the door. Then she ran. The Hessians weren’t after Anna. They ran right, into the East wing. Hikari and I traded the realization with pointed looks as we followed.

The East Wing, and only the East wing, would allow them an alternate access to the courtyard. These men knew our castle. I will not describe the whole chase, but let there be no doubt that an assassination was premeditated.  
And I have no doubt you’ve heard how that night ended: Queen Elsa vanished with her crown. The Hessians slipped into shadows. But you need to know what was forgotten in the panic, a single report that even I thought irrelevant in the night’s moments.   
It was snowing in the middle of July. The fjord water that I had bathed in that morning was now a glacier. These do not excuse me, but are the reason for my distractedness. Hikari and I had split, her to chase Elsa while I tried to confront the assassins. We rejoined in the courtyard while Krinkyl and Cherry ended the party. Hikari was shaping up to be a Captain.

“Anna saw her moving North. I’m taking a horse and Krinkyl’s platoon after her.”  
That was the attitude that had bumped her up the ranks so fast. But the same lack of foresight would be a problem. There was no delicate way for me to answer, but there was truth.  
“There are two-thousand more of those Hessians inside the city walls right now, Hikari. I’m not going to let you empty the garrison for a goddamned goose chase!”  
“She’s not a Goddamned Goose!”

I regretted these moments as they happened. I never picked my battles well, and I’m worse with words.  
“Look, I’ll understand if you need to get yourself killed marching without rest or food into the wilderness. I get it. I do. But Elsa doesn’t want you by her side right now, Hikari. She left us.”  
No answer. There wasn’t one. I continued.

“We don’t wipe her ass. We fight her wars. If you lose that mission focus, you’re no good to her. But when she decides to come back to us, we need to have a castle that’s ready to guard her. Can you do that job?”  
My job was the implication. I could see in her eyes that she wanted to follow her heart and her gut. All intuition screamed that she could just ride into the blizzard forming around us and find exactly what she was looking for, that Elsa would abandon her point of view and come skipping back through the gates all smiles. But another part of Hikari was thinking, hanging on to my words by the last, thin cord of trust we had.  
“You would chase Anna into that storm,” she murmured.  
It hurt to answer. But I choked it out.  
“And I hope you would stop me, Lieutenant.”  
I didn’t expect her to trust me. She didn’t.  
“I think this is all very convenient for you, Captain. With Elsa gone, we only have Anna.”  
Her Ice pendant pulsed at the names. Her eyes picked out the red hue glowing through my breast pocket. But she was wrong. I will tell you what I told her.  
“I think Anna’s a fucking mess right now. And if she’s ever going to smile again, we have to bring Elsa back.”  
I regret these moments because I never wanted to deal with Hikari as an obstacle. She was a warrior of full spectrum among conscripts, principled and honorable. And without politics, I would have greatly enjoyed her friendship. But we would both do horrible things for love. I knew she would never stab my back, but with words she had no bounds.  
“I don’t believe for a second that you care what happens to Elsa.”  
And I often sat in later days asking myself if that was true. I felt nothing when she left, save the worry that Anna would be upset. My mind worried for Arendelle. That was my answer.  
“I don’t see Elsa when I look at her, Hikari. I see the majesty of the Crown.”  
Cherry pushed through the crowd and screamed for us, ending the conversation. Then in a panicked whisper, reported.  
“Lieutenant. Captain. They weren’t after Elsa. The Lord Regent is dead!”


	3. Chapter 3

I can still see the creases in Hikari’s brow turning to wrinkles. That moment aged her body and withered her soul. In a single night, I saw all the moments she had ever hoped for stolen like the light in her eyes. She had just been hours away from the unrestricted access to Elsa she had dreamed of as a little girl, and I believe had that little girl seen what came of her efforts, she never would have made them. If I saw correctly, the crystalized faith in Hikari’s eyes had cracked, because it was unshakeable and had been struck by an unstoppable force: Elsa doesn’t want you. 

Hikari, you could have shrugged those words away like armies and oceans in your path. But I said them in the one moment they were true. I needed Anna to be happy, and she needed Elsa to be safe, and Elsa needed the Captain of her guard to have a level head. I saw no other way to give you that focus. Do not forgive me. But grow stronger.

Hikari at least grew in spite. We had agreed on what to do, and the discussion grew more amicable as we talked about exactly what to do. But I was swallowing my words to her not a moment later. Anna’s voice interrupted the whole courtyard.  
“I leave prince Hans in charge!”

I had many thoughts that were easily summarized: First, Who? Then, Fuck! But Hikari and I stood at attention, she to my right. It wasn’t a scene we could interrupt. When the Lady Regent speaks from atop her horse, addresses a crowd, you just don’t interrupt.  
Hans, for his part, spoke some concerns on the spot. I often wonder if he began sincere and was just easily tempted by a crown that fell into his lap.  
“Anna. Wait. Are you sure you can trust her?”  
“She’s my sister. She would never hurt me!”  
Anna spurred her horse into a gallop, and though I took the first step to chase her, Hikari did not stop me. I felt great trouble turning to her, nodding into an expression I’d never seen on her. I felt awful, and from that lens, she looked…   
Well: “You almost look happy, Hikari.”

Almost-happy, her one inhibition being a distrust of the future. Her words were well measured, a tact learned from constant observation of Elsa.  
“You aren’t chasing them… Because you believe that they’ll come back. You really believe that.”  
“I watched them grow up.”  
“Then I’ll stay,” she agreed. But it was not a concession, for she added, “If they aren’t back in a week, I’m usurping you. We’ll evict the Hessians and ride out to find her- Them.”  
Hikari would make a fine Captain someday, even over my dead body- likely, if things kept going this poorly. A discrete voice between us interrupted that thought.

“Look to your left.”  
Leviro had appeared without any warning, and handed me the contents of my pocket as a sick joke. Hikari retracted with alarm, but the ritual only elicited a sigh from me those days.  
“What’s to my left, Leviro?”  
“Guess, Captain.”  
But I didn’t get the chance. Hikari had little introduction to Espionage, and hissed too loudly, “The Hessians!”  
“Close…” Leviro hummed. “But look closer. The men guarding the Duke of Wesselton right now are not the same men he entered with. You’re meant to mistake them, arrest them on false charges, and then release the Duke when they reveal their alibis. They were dining with the Steward. The Duke will then flee, realizing that you’ve connected the death of the regent to him. And all of our leads will be gone.”  
I chanced a peek at them. The Duke was staring at me with the look of an unlicensed alchemist spending his first night in prison. I nodded and bowed politely, smiled, then turned in to hear Hikari’s insistent tirade.  
“OR, I can arrest him, right now! We’ll get the truth out of him, and then let him go when we’ve gotten what we can!”  
Her frustration had no effect on the kingdom’s most patient man.

“No,” Leviro whispered. “There’s actually a finesse to making people spill their deepest intrigues. And like coin, profits in information require an investment of information. So allow me to handle this situation, and we will begin by illegally abducting and questioning one of the two-thousand hessians drinking in our pubs.”

His airy tone- and he had a right to be speaking down to us on matters of his profession- his tone shifted to an order, indicating “this is why I’m deigning to speak to you.” And his last words to us were: “For now, do not let the Duke know what we know until we do. Stay out of it until I say otherwise.”

The blizzard had finished forming, and swallowed as its completion the last light from the rising moon. That sudden shadow was the end of Leviro’s presence. Hikari stared at the place where he had been, then turned her frustration and questioning to me.  
“He’s one of the courtesans, right? Leviro? Who is he?”

It isn’t my job to reveal state secrets. And in honesty, his title didn’t really capture him. So I mumbled, “He’s Leviro.”


	4. Chapter 4

We had agreed on what to do, but none of the specifics were forming. Hikari wasn’t helpful, but I felt about as useless. We sat together the next morning, shivering atop a roofed turret and staring out over Arendelle with nothing useful clouding in our heads. A nival blanket had settled overnight, and still grew as the crystals fell. Our spirits fell with them.

If you have been among those privileged to know nothing of farming, let me explain the fear no one spoke of: A slight chill in the middle of growing season causes famines. Winter in July, we’re all gonna’ die. There was the small hope that Elsa would return and save us. The amount of power that commanded a season could surely undo it and make crops grow without planting. The alternative was sending money to The Papacy and hoping they wrote our indulgences on bread.

Hikari had cups of snow melting in a fire beside us. I wondered if that foresight was a sign of her development or her gender, but her words brought me into the present.  
“There was a dead Chinaman who said the only wrong decision is no decision.”  
“Sun Tzu. He also said that waiting counts as a decision.”  
It was too cold to have a proper disagreement. We drank just before the water boiled, then let our words steam at each other.  
“Captain, I believe in you. But if your plan requires me sitting still, we’ll have a problem.”  
“Well, there’s another dead man we can draw wisdom from,” I offered.  
Her eyes perked up, then she squinted as dawn broke into them through the window.  
“Diogenes of Sinope,” I explained. “Dead Cynic. His city was under siege, and no one bothered to assign him a task- he had a bad reputation. Well he got up and started rolling a really big bowl around the town. Someone asked him why and he said… Uh…”  
I had paused to gather the quote in my mind, but Hikari’s worried expression stopped me.  
“Isn’t he famous for shitting in public?”  
“Yeah. He was a cynic. It- It was about critiquing society.”  
“Are you about to tell me to-?“  
“No. What? No! So he’s rolling this big bowl during a siege, and the reason he gave was, ‘I would not want to be thought idle in such busy times, so I am rolling this bowl to be like the rest of them.’ He was insulting the others, because really there’s not enough work for everyone, but everyone felt like they had to do something. So he’s saying, ‘none of you are doing anything more important than me rolling this bowl.’”  
I could see Hikari glaring at me with uncertainty being the only barrier to her offence.  
“How should I take that?”  
“I’m just saying find any bowl to roll. We should probably get the whole garrison involved. If we feel bad, enlisted morale must be pretty awful. You drink?”  
“No.”  
“Smoke?”  
“When I’m rich,” her implication being never.

Her next sip of water halted at her lips, the steam freezing on her eyebrows. But what I saw was the cycling of her irises as her eyes focused out the window.  
“Is that Prince Hans?”  
She had better sight than my age, picking out a white uniform against snow from damn-near a kilometer’s distance. And again, demonstrated her preparedness when she handed me a scope.  
“Thought you might want that, Captain.”  
“There’s a line between helpful and too helpful, Lieutenant. Remember that when you’re serving the Queen.”  
I imagine that she saw me smile through the comment, but the chapping of my lips made it a grimace. Hans had taken to the marketplace with a small retinue of our guard, hands full of royal goods.  
“Cloaks and food from the castle,” I murmured.  
“Feeding the hungry?” Hikari murmured. “They’ll make him a saint.”  
“I didn’t mention,” I answered, “That bowl Diogenes rolled? He stole it.”

We never caught up to the new Lord Regent. We never even made it out of the castle gates. Many of the coronation’s guests had decided to stay and satisfy their curiosity by gathering in the Great Hall and the Courtyard, to offer their “I hope they come back”s and ask, “But if they don’t… ?”  
There was a single earnest couple in the crowd. They stopped Hikari and I in the great hall with a direct confrontation and another kind gesture that gripped and squeezed my heart. The Queen of Corona stepped forward first.  
“You welcomed us at the gates, yesterday. You’re the Captain of the guard.”  
“Yes, your highness. I apologize, but we are on State business right now.”

Call me heartless. It was the go-to response for every stupid line of questioning, and thus every confrontation with nobles-not-mine. But I had dismissed her too easily. The Prince consort stopped us next, grabbing Hikari’s wrist. He kept the other hand behind his back, apparently unaware that Hikari didn’t take shit from foreigners. Her off-hand brandished a dagger, and he released the grapple.  
“Sorry. I – just, please. Hear us out. We think we can find your Queen, or at least give the people something to do.”

Looking at him, I never saw Prince Eugene Fitzherbert, only the wanted poster for a man who stole crowns. And the royal family had let him try again by marriage- disgusting. But the attention of other nobles was on us, now: The Duke of Wesselton, the count from Ireland, a beauty from France. There was no longer a polite excuse. I eyed the order to Hikari, and we squared our shoulders to acknowledge the Princess of Corona.  
“My apologies. Please continue, your highness.”

The brunette princess wore no markings of her station, and stepped forward with a weary eye to the crowd gathering around us. Someone had gasped, “Highness? She doesn’t look like a- Oh! It’s that girl that went missing! Everyone, look! Rapunzel is here!”  
Rapunzel sighed into my eyes.  
“When I… Went missing… My parents had an annual ceremony for the people. They lit paper lanterns and sent them up all at once so I could find my way home. I guess… I guess it worked. So Flynn and I…”  
Flynn Rider revealed what was behind him: The first of many, its candle already lit. He released it, and we all watched it rise into the great hall.  
“They’re pretty easy to make, actually. This was my first try,” he bragged.

The wooden cross-section at the base snapped, and the lantern’s paper ignited, plummeting onto the Duke of Wesselton. Hikari did not reserve her laughter at his plight.  
We never caught up to the new Lord Regent or the Chancellor. But we’d found that big bowl that needed everyone to roll it. For a people with nothing, that small gesture was everything.


	5. Chapter 5

I started the third day of Hikari’s threat with no luck. The night before, I had dreamed a memory of Anna. She ran through the halls, talking to soldiers that would not answer, and to paintings that could not. But in my dream she was not there, and instead a cold breeze swept in her place. I woke chilled under my blanket; The storm was getting worse.

Patrolling near a fireplace was suddenly an ideal career choice. But arriving in the Great Hall, I was distracted by an error in the color guard’s shift. Lieutenant Krinkyl stood at attention beside the empty throne, guarding the pillow on which a crown would usually rest. But Hikari had volunteered for the morning shift. 

“Lieutenant?”  
“Sir?”  
I had forgotten. But at the ball, Krinkle wore Elsa’s pendant. He would surely be loyal to whatever lie had been conjured for Hikari’s absence. Second Lieutenant Cherry was at her post, first pillar to the throne’s left. I turned from her back to Krinkyl.  
“It would be really inconvenient to your career if Cherry knew where Hikari went and you didn’t. That, and Hikari knows that if you can lie to the Captain for your friends, you won’t be worth shit to her.”  
Krinkyl nodded and confessed.  
“Sir, the Acting Garrisson Commander requested that I fill her post. She exited the hall in the direction of the market. We know nothing else, Sir.”  
“Has this happened before, Lieutenant?”  
He swallowed a tempting lie.  
“Not on my post, Sir.”  
“How often?”  
“I couldn’t say, Sir. Usually late at night, maybe one other time.”  
I knew what that meant. Leviro and I had witnessed the reconciliation of a noble and his wife. That exact phrase, “Usually late at night, maybe one other time,” had sent Leviro laughing out of the chamber.  
I nodded my thanks to Krinkyl, and set into the cold after Hikari. She hadn’t made it as far as the gates, but had donned a greatcoat over her uniform to hide her identity. My hand on her arm stopped her footprints in the snow- back of hand- she usually reacted better that way.   
For now, she shouted “Oh, Shit!” instead of stabbing me.  
“I don’t look that bad, Hikari.”  
“I- I’m just… ‘rolling my bowl,’ Sir. Krinkyl can handle the command and I didn’t think-“  
“No need,” I dismissed. “You’ll be Captain soon enough. Just keep in mind you’re setting an example every time you break a rule.”

I had that habit of seeing the speck in her eye, but walking out the gates with her. One of the men Hans had commandeered walked past us with cloaks, one for me.  
“Let’s go, Hikari. I want to come along.”  
I saw her hesitate, but she argued as she walked.  
“Sir, shouldn’t at least one of us be in the Garrison?”  
I nodded at her suggestion as we continued off of the drawbridge.  
“Yes.”  
“So-”  
“But if you suggest that again, I’ll volunteer you.”  
My point was well received, despite the cold tone. Being outside of the castle was a privilege rarely enjoyed. And walking into that storm and seeing its beauty alleviated our fears for the royal family. In danger as they were, at least the Queen and Princess were seeing great beauty in nature. But being in the market, we were treated to societal commentary instead.  
Two men set the scene in a bazaar shack. One, a bard, sat with nothing but a bow tie visible under his cloak and a battered guitar betraying his trade. Beside him was the saddest merchant in the city, feeding carrots to a reindeer and holding a wooden sign that read: “Ice.”

Hikari and I stopped to stare. Roth and Kristoff had long been just short of shackles and stocks. Kristoff, for drawing the Church’s attention. He was our fence to the trolls, and thus the nexus of occult supplies in Northern Europe. Roth was just… Unkind to the crown in his rhymes. That day they were at least more amusing than annoying. 

I started the conversation.  
“Roth, Kristoff. What the fuck are you two doing out here?”  
“Just obeying the Law, Officers.”  
Our cloaks: surplus from the City Watch. Kristoff offered a root my way.  
“And I’m just enjoying the weather. Carrot?”  
I declined, and he gestured to his sign and spoke through his chewing.  
“I got a gig delivering mail north recently, and I’ll need some coin for the shops on the way.”  
“Wait,” Hikari guffawed. Then she saw the stacks of ice blocks on the sleigh behind him, and the accumulated snow on everything around.  
“You’re serious? That’s actually funny!”

From there we transitioned to an argument about his reindeer not having any device catching its excrement, and what exactly fell under the term “horse” according to city zoning codes, and that no, talking reindeer would not be exempt.  
The conversation ended when I remembered it was the Watch’s problem. Old habits. The bard shouted after us, “Yo, man, FUCK the State!”

It wasn’t worth my time to care, and Hikari was distracted by something else. The cold hadn’t discouraged her course away from the castle yet. It was pretty clear that she wanted to go somewhere without me, and it was getting clearer that “somewhere” wasn’t in the most visible parts of town. She finally stopped at the mouth of an alleyway and confronted me about my presence. The snow under our feet had turned from slippery cobble to crunchy, ground in its own right. She glared, crossing white gloves into her armpits. And learning from my advice several years ago, she took the offensive.

“What do you think of the Church?”  
And that was a hell of an aggressive start, even for her.  
“We’re all defenders of The Faith in our own way, Hikari.”  
It was a common phrase, usually used to indicate the opposite. Usually, but not always. She checked her shoulders, I guess plotting to kill me if the conversation went poorly, then waited, hoping I would catch her drift and offer the truth.  
“I’m not the inquisition,” was the best I could do.  
“But you helped them when they came.”  
“There were good reasons to.”  
“Money?”

I can only assume that Hikari’s lack of tact was a sign of respect. In public, she was a second Elsa.  
“It saved The Realm and I don’t want to talk about it, let alone remember it.”  
I hadn’t satisfied her worries yet.  
She hissed, “You’re following me because you want to know what I’m up to.”  
“Yeah.”  
“And you won’t believe me if I tell you I’m saving the realm and don’t want to talk about it.”   
“Not while I’m your superior,” I chuckled.  
Her exhale shook, then crystalized.  
“Alright. You might… See some things the Church wouldn’t approve of. But it’s not hurting anyone.”  
“Blasphemy?”  
I gestured over my shoulder to the path that had lead us from Kristoff and his bard friend, famous for exactly that. Hikari’s head shook.  
“No. Nothing, you know, like that. Just- Things the Church doesn’t really need to know about.”

I will tell you this here because of what I have learned from the spymaster. It is better to know a shadow’s contents than to expose it to all. But, in honesty, I just didn’t give a damn. Or as I put it then: “Hikari, have you been sneaking away to brothels?”  
Her look was incredulity.  
“With respect, Sir: Fuck you.”

Despite her offense, she saw I was joking. We turned and walked down the alley, entered through a door for which she had the key. She had made a big deal out of a small-time alchemy operation.  
Two men sat at a table. What little space existed here was cramped by lanterns and fungi and small samples of humming metals. The first man was standing, his hands working with jeweler’s tools against a steel breastplate, engraving.   
The second was an alchemist, or a jack-of-all-things-illegal, just from the stains on his clothes, and the way they so perfectly matched this hovel’s contents. He was watching the first man’s hands.

“Thanks, Corteno,” he whispered. “Needed steady hands. How do you do it?”  
“Practice.”  
The first man, Corteno, stopped his work with the jerk of his head, then spotted us, and was silent. He wore over his face a mask unlike anything I can describe. Imagine a skull of martial metals, cut with the ultimate precision and infused with clockwork, but… Perfectly. As I stared, the alchemist took note, eyeing us through a jeweler’s lens.   
“He’s cool,” was Hikari’s introduction.  
The skull-mask turned back into its work. The alchemist stood to greet us.  
“Hello, Hikari. Anna’s missing, eh? I’m sure you heard before us.”  
“Well, I don’t live in a cave,” she hummed.  
“You sound like my mother,” the alchemist snapped back.  
I sat on a mossy boulder that looked like a chair, but the Alchemist seemed alarmed, worried, so I stood before he could object. And as part of my apology, I made the mistake of lowering my hood. He saw the red feather of my office in my cap, and gaped to Hikari.

“Are we getting raided?”  
He was relieved, if offended, by her answer.  
“O’, Canada. Raiding this hole wouldn’t even cover the cost of labor.”  
By the sound of his voice, Corteno was smiling behind his mask. But it was a hollow voice, and a hollow smile, that came through.  
“And where else would the castle get its trinkets?”

He did not cease his work while speaking. Canada did enough talking for everyone, drumming his fingers when he had to stop for breath.  
“I guess she can conjure up some fire or something to stay warm. I mean, they’re sisters, right? Twins? Magic in one-“  
HIkari was able to interject, “I doubt they were both students of magic, Canada,” but his voice continued over hers, flawlessly transitioning to his answer, “Yeah, I mean Anna’s a bit, ehhhh, you know, with studying, but I think someone-“ a nod my direction- “would have noticed if Elsa was getting into occult stuff. This is probably sorcery.”  
I admit the topic both bothered and intrigued me.  
“The difference being?” I asked.  
His fingers stopped, his eyes panicked.  
“You Inquisition?”  
“No.”  
“But you worked with them, before. Burned all those houses.”  
I had known that I would never live it down, but word had spread to everyone, and I never realized when I signed up that it would be in a bad way.  
“I had good reasons.”  
“Money?”

I sighed, and was too tired of the conversation to repeat it again.  
“I saved our city, and I’ll make no apology for that. Aside from a single moment that my duties coincided with theirs, I am not Inquisition. And my duties do coincide with understanding the Queen’s problem. So charge a consulting fee if you want. We’re allies.”  
Before his sly look could manifest, Hikari interrupted, “Be serious, Canada. Nobody’s gonna pay you to talk.”

He conceded the point and his knowledge.  
“Well, sorcery is innate, intuitive, and basically involuntary. Sorcerers can’t not do magic. They just channel it into something constructive or…” He gestured outside, “Or don’t. But that’s what’s weird about all this. Sorcery is by birth. If Elsa is a sorcerer, it stands to reason, so is Anna. How did Elsa hide it? How did Anna? I mean, here’s an example-”  
But he never got to that part. Corteno stood up, his mask entering the conversation with a hollow and curt voice.  
“Done.”  
He left without further comment or excuse, while Canada smiled with excitement.  
“Moment of truth, Hikari. That trinket’s the most magical thing you’ve got. Toss!”  
He held up his hands to catch. Hikari wore the same expression that had received my brothel joke.  
“You’re an idiot, Canada.”

She made slow and careful work removing her necklace. I had to agree. Canada was an idiot, or incredibly careless in matters of his death. He had the madness of a… Well… Of an alchemist. The pendants of Arendellian knights were symbolic, of course, of our willingness to die. But the symbol was backed by the effect. Smash the pendant, and your enemies go with you. Canada lifted the necklace high, to watch light gleam through.

“Gifted silver. Personal. You sleep near it, right? Feels like it’s caught some nightmares. Symbolic of a true love? Check. Hikari, this may be the most powerful artifact of magic ever created. Doesn’t hurt that it’s full of raw manna, of course.”  
He shook the pendant in his fingers, smiling harder as the liquid inside shimmered and threatened to explode. But, seeing the danger, his smile became a tight “oooooo” of appreciation, and he stopped.

“Shame to lose it, but, you’re the customer. That armor’s gonna glow.”  
He lowered the pendant to his table with patience and calm, unlike his usual self, and was about to lower a jeweler’s tool to it, to crack it, I realized, when he remembered our presence.

“You might want to leave. You know… Just in case...”  
We didn’t move. Hikari seemed worried that her friend was too excited about his project. She opened her mouth to protest, but what we heard instead was “BOOM!” shouted by Canada.  
Hikari and I jumped in unison. She shrieked back, “God dammit, Canada!”  
His point had been made. And so ended our presence.


	6. Chapter 6

The winter sun can burn your skin without heating it. And though the day was now brighter, we were no safer from exposure to the cold, or to that burn. So our hoods stayed high. Hikari and I had an extra shadow each, trailing at 20 meters once we left the alchemist. I sensed she was too engrossed in our conversation, or distracted by her worries, to notice.

“Canada stays out of the heavy stuff. He told me that he- He knew someone else who was in that mess, but stopped. He said, ‘There were whispers.' They offered a trade that… Scared him. He doesn’t say anything else about it.”  
Whispers and trades tickled my memory.  
“I told you I don't want to talk about that, Hikari.”

I nodded the comment into my shoulder, trying to signal her about our pursuers. I saw her nod, but couldn’t tell if she’d understood. She had plenty of topics, and moved to the next.  
“I was thinking about Krinkyl when I left him in command. I didn’t realize what it meant for Cherry. He had to leave his position, so she got bumped into his.”

I could hear the footsteps closing behind us. Hikari continued unaffected.  
“Last time Cherry had that post was a week after the... After Anna surrendered her claim. Anna was in the Great Hall, waiting for Elsa or trying to ambush her. I don’t remember. Well, she recognized Lieutenant Cherry, started talking to her. She asked Cherry what it was all about. And, well, Cherry couldn’t answer. So she just stood there and took it. Anna was at it for an hour. God, I thought it was so funny.”

Hikari shook her head, and launched into an impersonation, too accurate to be insulting.  
“‘Do you want to build a snowman? Did your parents name you Cherry because you’re sweet? Bet you I can win a staring competition. Does your nose itch if I tickle it with a feather?’ She got bored eventually. And then Cherry just…”  
“She’s an orphan,” I supplied. But Hikari wasn't looking for my shitty help.

“When Anna left, she just... Cried. She didn’t slouch or leave her post, but… She just didn’t stop crying. She didn't eat that night. I shuffled her to other posts since then, but…”  
Hikari was too stressed to sigh. Her exhale was a ragged snort. And though I’m slow and know fuck-all about women, I could tell she was sympathizing with the younger lieutenant. So I spoke for her.  
“Cherry has an obsession with Princess Anna that borders-“  
“-I respect it.”  
“What?”  
“God, just… Seeing her ruined like that.”

Hikari stopped and squared her shoulders at me.  
“Captain, I was laughing at her. I hurt her and made her feel shame about being in love. That's not the kind of respect soldiers should show each other. I’d never felt so small in my life. It wasn’t something I could apologize for, but… I told myself I would never let her take that shift again. I… I really messed this up.”

The folded arms again. More stress. Then she sought my eyes, I assume looking for guidance where there was none. Shit happens. Relationships cannot be fixed. I shrugged, and Hikari charged onwards.

“But I outrank her. I can’t just say ‘please forgive me,’ because she'd have to. Her career’s on the line. I don’t know what to do,” she admitted.  
“Just start by talking to her.”  
I could tell- had guessed- that was the obvious answer that she was hoping to avoid, or hoping I would confirm. She nodded.  
“Alright. I will.”

The next exhale was a true sigh. The trembling and stress left her shoulders. Her eyes fell to my chest, her expression foreboding boredom.  
“Well,” she finally said. “I guess we have to do something about these Hessians. I don’t think that pistol’s for show.”

Her eyes darted down the street, then burst wide as the same weapon snapped a brick behind me. I won’t bore you with the details of that battle. It was a drawn out process of taking cover and running for our lives. It wasn’t fun in the moment, I didn't to see them while running, and every remembering I’ve put to pen has yielded only a comedy of tactical errors and pejoratives on our part. The Hessians had to disengage once they’d woken up the whole town. That left us a short walk from the castle, and left Hikari with a short temper.  
“Why do we never hear Kristoff or Roth slandering them,” she fumed.  
“Careful,” I whispered, “the Lord Regent’s here.”  
And as we crossed the drawbridge, I nodded to a white uniform in the courtyard. Hikari’s situational awareness showed improvement, again, but her mood was still pissy.  
“Close,” she mocked, “but look closer.”

So I did. Black hair gave it away- Hans was blonde. This prince looked similar. I saw the jaw and silhouette were the same, but the gorgeous redhead following him with kisses to spare was a major change.  
“Eric,” she called him. “This is all so awful. Have you heard? Anna went missing, too! I hope Rapunzel is right.”  
Then she held a paper lantern up, giggling at her own distraction, “Look at this. Isn’t it neat?”  
The itch returned. The same feeling evoked by Hikari's mention of Whispers and Trades. I was too slow to make the connection, but adrenaline wracked my spine with that primal terror of eyes watching from the dark- The sub-cognizant feeling of something worse than Hessians.

Prince Eric nodded, reserved.  
“I just hope my little brother doesn’t start a war.”  
He saw how the suggestion soured his wife’s expression, but had to complete the thought in some form.  
“You may have noticed, my family doesn’t have a good history with witches.”

The way his cheeks pulled his lips taut was not a smile. And his wife saw that. As Hikari and I passed them, the princess met my eyes. We were staring. And perhaps her words shifted because of our audience, but they were still kind.  
“Eric... You do Queen Elsa an injustice, and Anna, too. They were born with it, those poor, unfortunate souls. Before you go passing any judgment, just remember that no one has been harmed by this winter."

Leaving the courtyard dispelled that vague fear. My thoughts drifted back to whatever problems Cherry and Hikari had between them. I doubted it ended at politics and mistaken intentions. I thought of the inevitable gossip of our disappearing together at odd hours.

As we entered the Great Hall, Lieutenant Krinkyl threw his squad into a salute, expecting the end of his shift. But Hikari stopped several meters short of him and heaved a very forceful breath. Her shoulders squared, and her posture shifted into a march. I expected, reasonably, that she would take her post to fix the bad behavior of... Not standing her post. But she turned to face Cherry, and marched until she was close enough for an intimate salute. Cherry had difficulty with her discipline sometimes, but the fear of Hikari's presence set that all straight in a way that wasn't ideal. She returned the salute, and their eyes held in a contact that was empty.

"Second Lieutenant Cherry. I apologize for my behavior two months ago. You are a fine soldier and deserve the respect and privacy of your station. I value your contribution to this garrison and this army. My conduct was unprofessional, and I hope that you will forgive my inattentiveness in reassigning you to this post."  
Their salutes held while Cherry thought and panicked. The words echoed to the few royals and soldiers that were awake that hour, but twenty people is more than two, especially after a morning of gossip. Krinkyl was still awaiting his relief, but his eyes wandered to me as if asking, "What the fuck?"

Cherry's answer was intentionally quieter- no echo.  
"Thank you, Lieutenant Oni. I hope... I hope this means we can be friends again."  
The ice did not melt. But when their salutes dropped and Hikari pivoted to march back to me, I could see that the blush of fear had become the flush of valor on both of them. And nothing melts my heart quite like unit cohesion.


End file.
